need help choosing a domain name

[Cloughie]

Hey,

I would like some help choosing a domain name, and... if someone makes a suggestion and I use it, I will pay pal them $50.00 as a thank you present!

Some background...

The site is going to offer personal development/self improvement products, predominantly hypnosis CD's. To start with we'll offer about 30 different hypnosis CD's, however will branch out into personal development books and audio in the longer term, getting a bit more general. I have a feeling Hypnosis CD’s will always be the main focus though.

My brother is a qualified Hypnotherapist and NLP practitioner/trainer so the idea is to build the site around his name. He is fairly well respected on a smaller scale and we expect that to be bigger in the future.

Also, we don't want the site to be just about products, we want a real face behind the products, something people can connect to.

Some examples of sites built around a name:

http://www.anthonyrobbins.com/Home/Home.aspx
http://www.stevegjones.com/

As I see it, we have 2 options:

1. Call the website firstnamelastname.com

2. Give the site a unique name, getting a keyword in there if we can

Honestly.. I am not strongly opposed to either and actually, I am not sure it’s a big issue either way, but I would really like anyone’s advice on the matter.

And, if you can think of a nice domain name and I then use that to name the site option 2, you get a $50.00 thanks you! 

Look forward to hearing your suggestions.

Daniel

[s2kinteg916]

I own a domain i was going to use for a personal devleopment site agovita.com latin for "Live Life". If your interested im willing to pass it on for the 50.00 reward.

[Cloughie]

Bump!

[Cloughie]

I own a domain i was going to use for a personal devleopment site agovita.com latin for "Live Life". If your interested im willing to pass it on for the 50.00 reward.

Hey,

I think the domain is a little hard to remember, so I will pass on it. Thanks for the offer though.

I am still torn. Shall I just go for joseph-clough.com or pick a specific name for the site?

[Cloughie]

Chris,

I have been reading your domain article.. specifically

Raynio.com
Photopia.com
Photography-Help.com
Number one is a horrible choice. Above all else your domain name needs to convey what your site is about. If you choose a meaningless domain that has no association with your site's subject then you've already handicapped your site and you haven't even started building it yet. Raynio.com may mean something to you because it incorporates your first name, but it will not mean anything to the people searching for photography. Always make sure your domain name has some association with your subject, the more association the better.

Number two is definitely an improvement over number one. Initially you may have even thought that number two was the best one on that list. I bet right now you're wondering why it's not so let me explain.

I see your point about the Ray comment, but based on what I have explained (how strong my bro's name may become) could I be the exception to that rule?

[Chris]

If your goal is to build your name as a brand (see Dr. Phil, etc) then yes, go with the name. Just so long as you understand you'll receive no favors with your SEO.

Or, you can do a hybrid.

Get the full name as a backup, but then use JohnDoeHypnosis or something like that for the actual domain/sitename.

[Cloughie]

Thanks Chris.

The full name is secured as best I can. Someone else has firstnamelastname.com which is annoying but I have got what I can and we'll probably run it on www.joseph-clough.com

I could do something like josephcloughhypnocd.com but its starting to get a bit long.

If I make sure the site is well optimised in terms of keyword text will I really be shooting myself in the foot on the SEO with a name url? How much am I harming myself?

[Cloughie]

josephclough-hypnosis.com could work though?

[Cloughie]

argghh, still seems a bit of a mouth full to me!

[s2kinteg916]

thats definately to long

[Cloughie]

yep,

I think I am going to just stick with joseph-clough.com

[BGray]

If you would like some keyword suggestions you might consider one of the following (all available):

experthypnotherapy.com
experthypnotherapist.com
qualityhypnosis.com
qualityhypnotherapy.com
qualityhypnotherapist.com

[Cloughie]

Thanks for the suggestions BGray.

Nice names, probably not quite fitting for a website which will carry hynposis but also personal development products. It might need something which is a little broader.

I have come to the decision though that using a name which has good keywords in for the site is probably too important to go for the name domain so I will get my thinking hat on.

If anyone comes up with something i use, I will up the payment to 100 bucks.

[Chris]

I wouldn't use a hyphenate name for this.

You're going for branding, not SEO, but hyphens are really only good for SEO, not branding.

IF firstnamelastname is taken, you gotta do something else.

Also, don't worry about putting "CD" anywhere. It isn't a prime keyword you'll need to worry about ranking well for.

[allout]

How about mrjosephclough.com ? You can use your name by just adding the Mr. in front.